In many environments of use, it may be desirable for connections between panels of clothing or other structures to be activated and deactivated quickly. By way of example only, in the past it has been typical to use so called “Quick Release” clips at front or side openings of vests and other torso coverings. One prior clip arrangement incorporates a male member with a pair of laterally disposed legs that snap in locking relation within a relatively flat female body. In such a construction portions of the snap legs typically project through openings in the lateral sides of the female body in locking relation. The locking relation is disengaged by a user pressing inwardly against the lateral sides of the body to force the snap legs to the interior while applying a separating tensioning force. This permits the legs to be pulled outwardly from the body. While such prior structures provide excellent connective properties, each clip must be manipulated independently to remove the clothing article.
By way of example only, and not limitation, one potential environment of use for the quick release connection units of the present invention is in a vest for torso coverage used to provide protection to users such as police officers, military personnel or the like. Such vests are typically formed from aramid and para-aramid materials and serve a primary function of protecting against damage to core body organs as a result of projectile impact. A prior system for disengagement of panels in a protective vest is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,188 the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. However, alternative systems for quick release of a protective vest may be desirable.
The quick release connection units of the present invention may also be used in other environments of use if desired. Thus, while the invention will be described in reference to a protective vest, it is to be understood that that the quick release connection units may be used in virtually any other clothing article or other environment of use as may be desired.